"For some years afier the amalgamation of
1847 the London and North Western
Railway was organized in two separate
divisions, each with its own locomotive
superintendent, and works. The practice
of the Southern Division, at Wolverton,
under J. E. McConnell, was the very
opposite of that of Trevithick and Allan,
at Crewe. The latter used the very
smallest engines that would do the job,
whereas McConnell 'built big', and put
machines on the road that were generally
ahead of their time. Technically his
various 2-2-2 express locomotives were
characterized by large boilers, and great
freedom in running; but externally they
created interest by having all the bearings
inside. It was a time when Mrs Amelia
Bloomer was advocating certain rather
startling changes in female attire that
shocked Victorian society, and McConnell's
new engines, with all their wheels
exposed, were immediately nicknamed
the 'Bloomers'. There were three varieties:
the original 'large' class of 1851, which is
illustrated; a smaller variety, introduced
in 1854, and three engines of 1861, which
were known as the 'Extra Large Bloomers'.
No less striking was the livery of the
Southern Division -- in its vivid scarlet.
One has only to compare the Crampton
engine London and one of ihe Bloomers,
with the Allan 2-4-0 and the Lady of the
Lake to appreciate the astonishing contrast
between the contemporary styles of
Wolverton and Crewe Works."
[Nock, p. 120]